Dear HistArch'ers,
With apologies for cross-listing and self-promotion, I'm pleased to share
the release of two new articles from the Market Street Chinatown Archaeology
Project. Both of these studies resulted from collaboration with material
science researchers and heritage stakeholders. Citations, abstracts, and
links are provided below; if you want a copy but do not have access to these
links, please contact me off-list and I can send you an author's eprint.
Many thanks to all the many researchers who made these studies possible!
Warmly,
Barb Voss
1. Voss, Barbara L., Ray Von Wandruszka, Alicia Fink, Tara Summer, S.
Elizabeth Harman, Anton Shapovalov, Megan S. Kane, Marguerite De Loney and
Nathan Acebo. 2015. Stone Drugs and Calamine Lotion: Chemical Analysis of
Residue in Nineteenth-Century Glass Bottles, Market Street Chinatown, San
Jose, California. California Archaeology 7(1):93-118.
http://www.maneyonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/1947461X15Z.00000000057?ai=t6
<http://www.maneyonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/1947461X15Z.00000000057?ai=t6&ui
=1xs&af=T> &ui=1xs&af=T
Chemical residue analysis was used in this study to identify the
contents of 10 glass medicinal bottles and vials in the nineteenth-century
Market Street Chinatown collection from San Jose, California. Analyses were
carried out using both classical techniques and modern instrumental methods.
Chemical changes in the analytes, brought about by prolonged environmental
exposure, introduced an unavoidable degree of uncertainty into all chemical
identifications. Seven bottles yielded residues most likely representing
mineral-based
"stone drugs" used to treat a variety of ailments in traditional Chinese
medicine. Three bottles contained calamine lotion, a zinc-based topical
preparation
used in both China and North America. These discoveries highlight the
role of mineral-based medicines in treating diseases, ameliorating symptoms,
and promoting health in nineteenth-century San Jose, California. The study
findings also indicate that the location of bottle manufacture and bottle
form
alone do not provide sufficient information to determine whether a
nineteenth-century
medicinal bottle contained allopathic, homeopathic, or traditional
Chinese medicine.
2. Seiter, Jane, Michael J. Worthington, Barbara L. Voss and Megan S. Kane.
2015. Carving Chopsticks, Building Home: Wood Artifacts from the Market
Street Chinatown in San Jose, California. International Journal of
Historical Archaeology 19(3):664-685.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10761-015-0303-8/fulltext.html?wt_
mc=alerts.TOCjournals
The Market Street Chinatown in San Jose, California, was a thriving urban
community until its destruction by arson fire on May 4, 1887. A surprisingly
robust
assemblage of wood artifacts was recovered during salvage excavations in the
mid
1980s. Taxonomic identification and analysis of structural timbers and
portable wood
objects contribute new perspectives on trade, travel, the built environment,
recreation,
and work in this nineteenth-century Chinese immigrant community. As wood
artifacts
are not commonly preserved in open-air archaeological deposits, this study
contributes a
rare archaeological view on the use of wood materials in nineteenth-century
urban life.
-----------------------------------------------
Barbara L. Voss, Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
450 Serra Mall, Bldg. 50, Main Quad
Stanford University
Stanford CA 94305-2034
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]
https://web.stanford.edu/dept/anthropology/cgi-bin/web/?q=node/75
https://stanford.academia.edu/BarbaraVoss
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